Stephen Fry’s love life has been a rollercoaster 16 years of celibacy, struggles with relationships, and now a happy marriage to much younger spouse Elliott Spencer
Stephen Fry’s love life has been anything but conventional. From 16 years of celibacy to a series of relationships marked by emotional highs and lows, Fry’s path to lasting happiness was long and tumultuous. Today, married to much younger writer Elliott Spencer, 37, the 57-year-old actor has found peace after a lifetime of heartache and self-discovery.
Fry’s early love life was defined by his decision to live in celibacy. Between 1979 and 1995, Fry abstained from sex for 16 years. Reflecting on this period, Fry later said: “I don’t regret the celibacy.”
When Fry eventually sought love, his relationships were far from easy. His first major partnership was with Daniel Cohen, a younger man with whom he shared a home for over a decade. The pair broke up in 2010, and Cohen later expressed his heartbreak, especially when Fry began dating younger men.
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Cohen said: “What really upset me is that Stephen is going out with a 26-year-old, for God’s sake.”
Despite this, Fry didn’t give up on finding love. However, his struggles were compounded by battles with mental health, including his openness about his bipolar disorder and a suicide attempt in 2012.
These challenges made it even harder for Fry to find emotional stability, but his resilience eventually led him to his current partner.
In 2014, Fry met Elliott Spencer, a 21-year-old writer, and their relationship quickly grew serious. The pair became engaged in 2015 and married later that year. Despite a significant age gap, Fry and Spencer found happiness away from the public eye, maintaining a low-key life together. Fry, known for his public persona, has been remarkably private about his relationship with Spencer.
They have been rarely seen together in public, with Fry consistently choosing to keep their life out of the spotlight.
To mark their tenth wedding anniversary in 2023, Fry shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, posting a photo from their wedding day and writing: “Ten happy years to the day since we were joined in marriage. I’m a lucky man.”
This rare glimpse into Fry’s personal life showed just how much the comedian cherishes his relationship with Spencer. It was a rare public moment in an otherwise private marriage.
In another rare glimpse into his private life, Stephen Fry once shared a lighthearted moment about his relationship with Elliott Spencer during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.
When asked about his downtime, Fry revealed that he and Spencer enjoy a simple routine, saying, “My husband and I, we don’t go to Hollywood parties much, we have an early supper, watch Jeopardy! and go to bed.”
Speaking it into existence, in January 2024, Fry became the host of the UK version of the iconic American game show Jeopardy!